Spicy Foods : The Benefits and the Drawbacks

Spices add up that flavor which no other seasoning can add! And Indians love spicy food, don’t we? All of us regularly ask the Panipuri wala, ‘Bhaiyya, aur thoda theeka dalo”, and we don’t even need to talk about the Biryani, which is a colossal cluster of all the spices ever available. Now, let’s talk about the benefits and drawbacks of our favorite spicy food.

 Benefits:

1. Aids in the Weight loss

Spicy food is so ever helpful when it comes to losing those extra pounds. That’s because spicy foods boost your metabolism, which will ultimately digest your food in a proper way and capsaicin, the element present in chillies, peppers and jalapenos will help in fat burn. So go ahead and eat that pepper curry!

spicy-foods-for-weight-loss2. Prevents Cancer

Again, capsaicin, which is amazing, by the way, is helpful in preventing the risk of cancer! Crazy, isn’t it? So, studies from various universities proved that hot foods are helping with curbing the risk of prostate cancer, and sometimes even stopping the proliferation and growth of cancer!

spicy-food-for-cancer3. Have A healthy heart

Like we discussed earlier, chillies, cayenne peppers, jalapenos, habaneros all have this capsaicin, which helps a lot in increasing the breakdown rate of fats and cholesterol. So this helps in lowering the levels of bad cholesterol which causes most of the heart diseases.

spicy-food-for-heart4. Improved Blood Circulation

Hot foods help in getting the blood pressure under control.  How is it you ask? Well, when you eat spicy food, like the chillies and peppers, your body temperature rises which in turn increases the circulation of blood. Heart aggressively pumps blood, helping both blood circulation and getting blood pressure under control.

chillies-for-better-circulation5. Improves Digestion

Spicy foods boost metabolism. They increase the production of Hydrochloric acid that will ensure the proper digestion of food. They also strengthen the mucus lining of the stomach. This will also increase the circulation of blood. The increased production kills the bacteria, therefore curbing down any bacterial illnesses.

spicy-food-for-digestion6. Mood lifters

Capsaicin, the kickass substance that we had talked about,boost the levels of endorphins and serotonin, both of them are feel good hormones. They are extremely helpful when it comes to stress relieving. Next time you feel a little low, go on and have that big bowl of spicy soup.

7. Helps in breathing

You must think “what?” but chillies, peppers and such hot foods are suggested by doctors to patients that have breathing problems. It helps a lot to the people with Bronchitis, asthma, emphysema, sinusitis and other breathing and respiratory problems. They also help in clogged nasal passages, which is why we should eat them when flu and cold hits us.

spicy-food-for-breathing-problems

Drawbacks

Well, you guessed it already. Drawbacks of having spicy food includes the risk of gastrointestinal illness. Although capsaicin is good for your body in various ways, it irritates the stomach lining when consumed in large quantities. It can also cause stomach ulcers, gastritis and other intestinal diseases. People with hemorrhoids are suggested to keep away from the spices. so guys, limit is the key. 

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